Sometimes, I really wonder about human nature. I like to think that most people are kind and compassionate the majority of the time and those who are mean and vile are the exception.

But some of the blog comments posted to a recent Barrow Journal story about mentally ill patients being abused in unlicensed homes makes me wonder if people really are compassionate.

The negative comments contained one of two thoughts. First, some bloggers blasted the county and Winder for enforcing codes that don’t allow for unlicensed personal care homes in neighborhoods. Those blog comments seemed to think that the regulation of personal care homes was too much government intrusion; that people should be able to house whomever they wish without any kind of regulation. Along with that were comments from those who blasted “nosey” neighbors for reporting the illegal homes.

This kind of attitude often comes from those who dislike any kind of government regulation. They don’t like zoning; they don’t like building codes; they don’t like land use codes.

While there is no doubt government at all levels overregulates to a degree, to blame government for those illegal and unlicensed homes is wrongheaded. Personal care homes are supposed to be licensed by the state and they have to conform to zoning codes.

But it was the second group of comments that really left me dumbfounded. Several bloggers questioned — and even criticized — the families of those mentally ill people, saying that the families themselves should have been more responsible for their care.

What? None of us know the individual circumstances of those families or why those individuals found themselves in a bad situation. To blame the families for what happened is to blame the victims.

We don’t know the individual medical, psychological or financial needs of those families. We do know that they sought professional care for their family members and that a West Georgia hospital referred those mentally ill patients to a Gwinnett County facility and then to Barrow County. Why the hospital referred those people to an unlicensed facility is unclear, but it was not the fault of the patients or their families.

To suggest that somehow the families are to blame for this bad experience is pure arrogance coming from bloggers who know nothing of the details.

And anyway, all of that is a diversion to the real issue here, which is that a group of people got put into unlicensed care and were allegedly abused physically, mentally and financially by some people in Barrow County. If true, there is no defense for that.

Are bloggers in Barrow County so dense, so self-absorbed and so uninformed as to confuse the victims of a crime with those who caused the crime? Are they so politically inane that the have to find some large government conspiracy in every law enforcement action so that government is always the bad guy?

This is just another sign that our political discourse has become more coarse, vile and uninformed. The Internet has given a platform for the crazies to spout all kinds of ignorant ideas. And the uneducated in our society lack the ability to discern such nutty comments from those that are reasoned and factual.

So let’s set the record straight on the situation in Barrow County that involved several mentally ill people being dumped into unlicensed homes: The patients and their families were the victims. Those who ran those facilities caused the problems. The neighbors who reported the activity were right to alert authorities. Law enforcement officials were right in their response.

To suggest anything else is just wrong.

***

Once again, Barrow’s EMS and fire services are in the headlines because of problems. Those emergency services are controversial in just about every community, either for their cost or response time issues.

And there’s no shortage of opinions. Some believe Barrow’s blended EMS and fire services were a mistake. Others think doing away with the old volunteer system was a mistake.

Now there’s talk of putting an ambulance in Winder where there is more population density and that is also controversial.

For as much money that is spent together on these services in the county and in Winder, the area should have a first-class fire and EMS system. And yet, the turmoil never seems to end.

Mike Buffington is co-publisher of the Barrow Journal. He can be reached at mike@mainstreetnews.com.

Mike, Barrow is full of drug addicts. When we can clear them out then the good and caring people will move in. I moved here 8 years ago. I had to take my son to the hospital with a pretty bad cut to his thumb. The first thing I remember seeing in the hospital was a sign that read " we do not give pain medicine ". I knew then we moved to the wrong county. There are very few caring people in this sleepy town. The county and city government need to wake up and smell the coffee. I am one of the caring people in this town but I'm disabled and can't do alot to help.

the personal care home that started this, it was the BARBEr shop the neighbors didnt like, and just turned out that they were having mentally ill folks living there which proved the undoing and possibly what led to the end being less then positvie outcome for both residents and persons owning or renting the home. much to the delight of the neighbors, who if you had been at the county board meeting complianed about everything from too much use of toilets to more cars on the street, yes nosey neighbors.

Not here to argue or debate. I know most who follow me on here find that hard to believe. Ive grown up in this town. 36 of my 42 years. Ive watched it transform and change all these years. Sad to say into one of the meanest, ill spirited, and frankly embarassing places Ive been in my travels. The thing that bothers me most is the lack of compassion and caring. I realize its not the same little bedroom community of under 20,000 that it was when I began to take notice of community. But from the way waitresses in resturants to school teachers and little league coaches are treated, Ive seen hatred and anger like no other place. Kinda hard to put a finger on. People in general are nice and caring. We need a renewed sense of community pride and cohesiveness. I don't know all the answers but Im gonna start by participating in walk through Bethlehem. Sponsored by Bethlehem First Baptist Church. Pretty phenomenal event. They are going to do thousands, yes thats right, thousands of random acts of kindness over the next week or so.From delivering groceries to folks, to buying gas, helping with auto repairs, and others. Know I know from past posts, all of you in blog land are not religious. Thats fine. But just for a moment we can all lay down our pride and take time to be kind. Heres a thought, start each day by doing or saying something nice you'll be suprised how good you feel. Barrow county needs more kindness. Kindness leads to humbleness, which in turn, leads to compassion, which leads to passion, passion to desire, desire to positivity, and ultimately to success.

Mike, I really think that there are some people whose sole peupose in life is to wait for you guys to publish a story just so they can gripe and complain about whatever it is about just so they have something to do. I would hope that some of the comments that i have read on here over the past couple of years are not what some people really think although the sad fact is that some of them are. Everybody has a right to their own opinion, but i think some people start writing comments before they even read the entire story and really think about what they are saying. I guess the thing that annoys me is that I love a good debate, but there have been many stories and the comments appear to have been written by 12 year olds. I have no problem with anyone voicing their opinion, even if it completely differs from my views, but when I call you on it or ask why you think that way then answer me with reason and don't attack me verbally by calling names and junk like that. I have 3 news sites I read every day. One Atlanta, One National and this one. This one is always first because i love the format and everything about it. I do wish some of the other readers would grow up at times, but then again sometimes it makes me laugh and brightens my day..LOL Keep up the good work.

Add Comment

Name

Email

Homepage

In reply to

Comment

E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications.

To leave a comment you must approve it via e-mail, which will be sent to your address after submission.

To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly.Enter the string from the spam-prevention image above: